Hundreds stranded as repairs delay MRT first trip for 1 hour

MANILA, Philippines – Hundreds of Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3) passengers were stranded Thursday morning after rail repairs delayed the first trip of trains for one hour, radio reports said.

DzMM radio said MRT general manager Roman Buenafe attributed the delay to unfinished rehabilitation work by its maintenance provider, Globe APT, on rails between the Guadalupe and Buendia stations in Makati City.

This delayed its first trip which left North Avenue at 5:30 a.m. instead of 4:30 a.m., and left hundreds of commuters waiting in MRT stations along the entire line from Quezon City to Taft Avenue in Pasay City.

Buenafe, according to reports, said Globe APT was supposed to repair two sets of rails but was only able to finish one set.

On top of the one-hour delay, trains needed to slow down to 15 kilometers per hour (kph) between the Guadalupe and Buendia stations because of the unfinished repair work, dzMM reported. This led to the usual 45 to 55-minute trip from North Avenue to Taft becoming one hour.

The first trip from Taft left at 6:50 a.m., about 1 and 1/2 hours delayed, dzMM said.

According to the MRT website (https://www.dotcmrt3.gov.ph), its trains are designed to have a maximum speed of 65 kph, “enough to cover the rail system’s tip in about 30 minutes.”

The poor condition of the tracks has forced MRT trains to reduce speed to 40 kph.

Some passengers complained that they did not receive any advisory from MRT about Thursday mornings delay and they were left wondering and guessing as to when operations would resume. CB

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